BRADFORD’S best firms and businesspeople are set to be showcased at this year’s Telegraph & Argus Bradford Means Business Awards.

The district’s best in business will be honoured at the eighth annual awards night, again partnered by Bradford Council. This year’s glitzy ceremony is on Thursday, July 5, at the Aagrah Midpoint Suite in Thornbury. The prestigious awards night will also include a keynote business speaker.

The categories where nominations are invited from firms and businesspeople are:

  • Small or Medium Enterprise of the Year, sponsored by BHP Chartered Accountants
  • Manufacturer of the Year
  • New Business of the Year
  • Apprentice of the Year; sponsored by Keelham Farm Shop
  • Job Creator of the Year
  • Businesswoman of the Year, sponsored by The Broadway Bradford
  • Business Personality of the Year.

A new category has also been introduced to this year’s awards. Young Entrepreneur of the Year is open to anybody aged 30 or under based in the Bradford district. It is open for anyone who has a business idea which has either not been registered with Companies House, or whose business has been run for less than three years as of January 1 this year.

The public are invited to put forward nominations in two further categories – Retail, Leisure or Hospitality Business of the Year and Employer of the Year.

The best of the best will also be crowned on the night with the Winner of Winners prize, sponsored by Kirkgate Shopping Centre. They will follow in the footsteps of last year’s top prizewinner, cyber security company ECSC. Nominations for this year’s event can be made by completing a form on the Telegraph & Argus website. Each category has its own dedicated section and each award has its own entry form. Anyone who believes they are eligible to enter more than one category will have to fill in a form for each award.

After the deadline has passed, the judging panel will assess the entries and draw up a shortlist of three candidates in each category.

These shortlists will be announced nearer to the date of the ceremony. The closing date for nominations is Saturday, April 7.

Nigel Burton, T&A editor, said: “The annual Telegraph & Argus Bradford Means Business Awards have honoured the district’s top performers – both large and small – across a broad spectrum of sectors for eight years now and this year’s event, to be held at Aagrah Midpoint, promises to be the best yet.

“I’m particularly pleased to see a new category for the district’s young entrepreneur of 2018.

“We love to read about the big beasts of the business world, but one of the greatest pleasures in hosting the Bradford Means Business Awards is uncovering Bradford’s hidden gems.”

This year’s awards will be launched with a preview supplement in the T&A next month, but nominations are open right now - head over to our nomination page for more details